Stonekeep

Stonekeep is a 1995 role-playing video game for DOS by Interplay Entertainment. It is a first-person dungeon adventure with pre-rendered environments and live action cinematic sequences. The would end up taking five years to make, being announced in 1991 and released in 1995. Years later, Stonekeep was later made available for purchase through GOG.com's digital distribution system for Windows XP and Windows Vista. Interplay's Black Isle Studios would work on a sequel for roughly five years, entitling it Stonekeep 2: Godmaker, but eventually cancelling it in order to work on Icewind Dale II and Baldur's Gate III: The Black Hound.

The game, alongside a novelization, would remain the only entry in its series until the announcement of Stonekeep: Bones of the Ancients in 2010 by Interplay, a game developed by Alpine Studios. The game would not be a sequel to Stonekeep, but rather a new game based on the original, a standalone entry in the franchise. The game, titled Stonekeep: Bones of the Ancients, was released in 2012 as downloadable content at WiiWare for 500 Nintendo Points.

Stonekeep's mythology revolves around a variety of gods associated with planets of the solar system. In order, they are Helion (Mercury), Aquila (Venus), Thera (Earth), Azrael (Mars), Marif (Jupiter), Afri (Saturn), Saffrini (Uranus), Yoth-Soggoth (Neptune) the Master of Magick, and Kor-Soggoth (Pluto) the Brother to Magick.

Stonekeep is centered on a hero, Drake. During the Devastation of the world by the insane god Khull-Khuum, the Shadowking, Drake the boy was saved from his castle by a mysterious figure. Years later, Drake returned to the ruins of Stonekeep and the goddess Thera sends his spirit out of his body into the ruins itself to explore, reclaim the land, and defeat Khull-Khuum.

Along the way, Drake makes many friends, including Farli, Karzak, and Dombur the dwarves; the great dragon Vermatrix; the elf Enigma; and the mysterious Wahooka, the King of goblin. Together, they also rids the world of Khull-Khuum's evil minions and allies, such as the witch Ice Queen.

Stonekeep is a first-person RPG in the style of Eye of the Beholder and Dungeon Master. The game is set in a series of underground labyrinths, filled with monsters, treasures and traps. The player uses the directional keys on the keyboard for movement and typing in notes in the journal and uses the mouse pointer to interact with objects and characters. The mouse pointer is usually a target indicator for aiming attacks and weapons wherever it is clicked. When the mouse pointer is moved onto a particular something it changes to another icon to indicate a different action. For example the mouse pointer changes to an eye when the player can examine things (often signs) or the mouse pointer changes into a spread-out hand when the player can pick up items. Other mouse pointers include opening and closing chests, opening and closing panels, pulling levers and switches, pressing buttons, drinking water and giving items.

Drake has two starting possessions to aid him: the magic scroll and the magic mirror. The magic scroll allows the player to pick up an infinite number of items. Items of the same type can be combined together up to a maximum quantity of 99. Other items can be combined together such as a quiver which can hold 99 arrows.